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Spain in the Middle Ages is a period in the history of Spain that began in the 5th century following the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ended with the beginning of the early modern period in 1492. The history of Spain is marked by waves of conquerors who brought their distinct cultures to the peninsula.
The Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España) entered a new era with the death of Charles II, the last Spanish Habsburg monarch, who died childless in 1700. The War of the Spanish Succession was fought between proponents of a Bourbon prince, Philip of Anjou, and the Austrian Habsburg claimant, Archduke Charles.
Other European powers, including England, France, and the Dutch Republic, took possession of territories initially claimed by Spain. Although the overseas territories under the jurisdiction of the Spanish crown are now commonly called "colonies" the term was not used until the second half of 18th century.
Spain lacked the wealth and the interest to develop an extensive economic infrastructure in its African colonies during the first half of the 20th century. However, through a paternalistic system, particularly on Bioko Island , Spain developed large cocoa plantations for which thousands of Nigerian workers were imported as laborers.
The collapse of the Western Roman Empire did not lead to the same wholesale destruction of classical society as happened in areas like Roman Britain, Gaul and Germania Inferior during the Early Middle Ages, although the institutions and infrastructure did decline. Spain's languages, its religion, and the basis of its laws originate from this ...
The sociedad de la España moderna ("society of modern Spain" in the sense of the Modern Age or Ancien Régime) was a network of communities of diverse nature, to which individuals were attached by bonds of belonging: territorial communities in the style of the house or the village; intermediate communities such as the manor and the cities and their land (alfoz or comunidad de villa y tierra ...
This put an end to the peaceful coexistence of Jews, Muslims and Christians that had enriched the peninsular Moorish economy throughout the Middle Ages, making Spain one of the wealthier European regions before 1492. This religious intolerance destabilized the long-term economy of Spain by driving out some of the most entrepreneurial denizens ...
As characteristically happens in any colonialism, European or not, previous or subsequent, both Spain and Portugal profited handsomely from their newfound overseas colonies: the Spanish from gold and silver from mines such as Potosí and Zacatecas in New Spain, the Portuguese from the huge markups they enjoyed as trade intermediaries ...